


Powdered Sugar

by xLoveMx



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe - Bakery, F/F, M/M, Merthur - Freeform, Modern AU, Morgwen - Freeform, bakery fanfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-05
Updated: 2016-08-05
Packaged: 2018-07-29 12:45:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 15,536
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7685038
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xLoveMx/pseuds/xLoveMx
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“So I´ve heard you´re quitting your job and that Uther has set you an ultimatum to return or otherwise he´ll disown you? Was this your master plan all along, Arthur? To set him all up to believe you´d inherit his empire and then have him trip over his own feet and fall flat on his face? Because if that´s the case then I´ll have to say: I´ve never been more proud of you, brother dear.”</p><p>aka Arthur buys a bakery, Merlin starts working as his pastry chef, Morgana has to take matters into her own hands, Gwen is kind of in the middle and Uther should really think before he speaks.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Powdered Sugar

**Author's Note:**

> Alright, so I kind of think of this story as my baby. I haven´t written for the Merlin fandom in a long time and I´ve also never written a story this long without writing chapter to chapter. I didn´t want to post this before it was really done and once the idea had found its way into my head I couldn´t get it out until I wrote it down. I´m really happy with how it turned out and I hope you guys enjoy it!
> 
> x

“I´m sorry but…you bought _what_?”

Morgana´s voice rang through the phone and it was clear that she was still too shocked to be laughing at him, though Arthur was sure that she would catch up eventually. He couldn´t even be mad at her, because if Leon or Lance would have called him up and told him what he had just told Morgana then he would have probably laughed at them as well.

“Wait…so you´ve bought _a bakery_? Uther´s not going to be very amused by that.”

Calling Morgana had been a bad idea. But then calling Morgana to tell her anything was usually a bad idea and Arthur should have known better.

“Arthur. You´ve got a business major. Forgive me if I´m not a 100 percent behind this, but somehow I can´t see you standing in a kitchen, baking pies and making cupcakes. You can´t even make pasta without lighting the house on fire,”

“Oh God Morgana, that was _one_ time!” Arthur shot back with a groan. “And I was 10!”

The truth was, he had never really tried cooking again after that incident and he had been fortunate enough to have lived in a household that had not only a nanny taking care of Morgana and him, but also a housekeeper, a chef, a gardener and also a bunch of bodyguards which Uther had insisted on.

Arthur had never minded them, even though he just hadn´t thought them to be necessary. Morgana had only ever been pissed off about them when she hadn´t been able to persuade them into letting her sneak out on school nights.

Coming to think of it now, those particular bodyguards, which Morgana had not been able to persuade, had always somehow ended up being fired under mysterious circumstances.

“You little witch…” Arthur muttered under his breath, but it seemed as if Morgana had caught the words anyways. Not that she seemed to mind them terribly.

“I´m just looking out for you, Arthur.” She responded. “Uther is not going to be happy and something tells me that you won´t be either,”

Arthur sighed into the phone, regretting the decision to call her more and more with each passing minute. Mostly because Morgana was right, like she usually was. Something Arthur chose to ignore most of the time, but this time it wasn´t exactly something he could just sweep under the rug.

He had made a decision based on emotions instead of careful thinking, because if he had thought this through beforehand then he wouldn´t have made the purchase. Arthur Pendragon knew next to nothing about baking, but he knew about numbers and the fact that, if you didn´t know anything about baking, you couldn´t exactly do well with a bakery.

Still, Arthur couldn´t just resell it. Especially not since the person he had outbid would have turned the place into God knows what. And he couldn´t have that.

So that was the story of how Arthur Pendragon put up an ad for an open spot as a baker or pastry chef in the local newspaper, on the internet and everywhere else he could think of. And also how he ignored his father´s calls for three days straight.

-

“Wait…so you´re going to quit your job?” Morgana asked, sounding both surprised and a little amused. Arthur really needed to stop answering her calls.

“I didn´t say that.” He responded before dusting off the last table in the shop. He hadn´t done much renovating yet, and he wasn´t about to. The shop itself wasn´t big and it had its own charm. The walls would need to be painted over and maybe he´d get some new tables and chairs for the corner, but other than that Arthur actually liked how it all looked. There was a small counter with an old register right next to the glass display and the backdoor behind it lead right into the kitchen. There was also a small cupboard on the wall behind the counter that could be filled with either more things to be put on display or simply small decorative things.

“Arthur? Are you still there?” Morgana´s voice pulled him out of his thoughts and he finished dusting off the table quickly.

“Yes, I am. And I am not planning on quitting my job.” _Yet._

“Good, because Uther has been calling me and I´m not in the mood to deal with his angry rampages.”

Arthur rolled his eyes and checked his watch. He had invited a few of the people who had responded to his ad for an interview and they should be here any minute, which would give him a reason to hang up on his step sister.

“You _always_ deal with his angry rampages, Morgana.”

Morgana herself had signed up for an art major just to piss off Uther and had greatly succeeded. Right now she owned a small gallery in the city centre, which had somehow softened his anger for her, much to Morgana´s dismay. She did, however, seem to enjoy the work she was doing so Arthur assumed it had ended well for both of them.

“Of course I do, when they´re directed at _me_. But I don´t have the time to shield you from the ones directed at you as well.”

That was a lie. Despite their bickering, and the fact that they weren´t blood related, Arthur and Morgana had always had each other´s backs when it came down to it and Arthur doubted that it would ever change.

“I´ve gotta go, Morgana. I´ve got potential employees coming.” Arthur then spoke into the phone and didn´t wait for an answer before he hanging up.

-

The interviews didn´t exactly go as Arthur had imagined them to. One of the people he had invited showed up thirty minutes late, along with one who knew as much about baking as Arthur did, the third one looked like he was drunk, or high at least, and the fourth candidate didn´t even bother to show up at all.

Arthur shook his head as he gathered the papers that he had placed on table and walked over to the counter. He had even prepared coffee for the potential employees and now the last one hadn't even shown up! This business might not have been the biggest, but it promised great success with the plan Arthur was going to work out and he was also willing to pay rather well! He couldn't seem to understand why someone would deny themselves such an opportunity!

Arthur had just slipped the papers into his bag when he heard the small bell over the door ringing. He was just about to turn around and politely tell whomever had entered that they had yet to be reopened, when he was faced with someone who was, quite literally, stumbling into the shop and almost landing face first on the floor. The bag he had been carrying slid off his shoulder and spilled all of its contents on the ground and for a moment Arthur wasn't sure what to say.

The man seemed to be younger than himself, if only by a few years. He was wearing a suit Arthur assumed he had bought second hand because it looked a little off and was also a little too big for the man’s thin frame.

Whoever this man was, he must have been running, because apart from the obvious signs, like being out of breath and the red face he was sporting, Arthur found that his hair was also quite disheveled and his shoelaces were untied. Arthur was actually quite impressed that the man hadn't face planted on the floor when bursting into the shop.

“How can I help you?” He asked eventually, slipping into a business tone easily. The man seemed to have finally caught his breath and crouched down to pick up the contents of his bag.

“I'm sorry!” He quickly apologized, the red tone on his face changing from _out of breath_ to _embarrassed_ rather quickly. “My name is Merlin Emrys, I was supposed to be here for an interview half an hour ago! I promise I'm never late, well, apart from right now, but that's because I literally just graduated from Pastry School today and I forgot that graduation was today when I scheduled the interview, because there was so much going on and then I realized I couldn't just show up here without my diploma and I also couldn't not get my diploma, because I would need it for the interview,” He took a short break and picked up a folder, which he  handed over to Arthur once he had finally collected all of his belongings from the floor. “So then I tried taking a taxi here, but traffic in London was horrible, it actually always is, which I should have known, so I decided to run, which might not have been the smartest idea, but it was my only option. Please tell me the job is still available?”

“Do you always talk this much?” Arthur asked back, slightly irritated.

“No?”

That wasn't exactly a very believable answer and if this would have been an interview for a position at Scotland Yard then Merlin would have most definitely not been hired, but Arthur's record when it came to finding qualified employees wasn't exactly the best either.

 

He let his eyes wander about the diploma in the folder along with the resume that was filed away behind it. Merlin seemed to have had different jobs after graduating from High School before finally enrolling for a master’s degree at-

„Le Cordon Bleu? “ Arthur asked, glancing up at Merlin. „Isn`t that a dish that consists of meat filled with cheese? What the hell does that have to do with pastries? “

„Yes, well. It´s also the name of the pastry school I just graduated from. And technically _Cordon Bleu_ means _Blue Ribbon_ and comes from a wide blue ribbon worn by members of the highest order of knighthood, L`Ordre des chevaliers du Saint-Esprit, in the 16th century and the term has been applied to dishes prepared to a very high standard ever since.“

Arthur raised an eyebrow at Merlin. He by no means considered himself all knowing, but this sounded like something one would have heard of. Then again Arthur had never really cared about the origins of the food on his plate, as long as it tasted good and didn´t leave him hungry he had been content.

 “It also means that I am very good at what I do and that I could be really great for this bakery. Please?” Merlin added and Arthur slowly handed the folder back to him. It wasn't like he had many options to begin with. Surely, he could have put out another ad in the papers, but the longer it took him to get this all started the higher his chances of failure, and the wrath of his father coming his way, were.

“Fine. I'm giving you a trial run.” he finally concluded with a nod. “You'll be making me a few pastries and I'll see if I deem you fit to work here. I'd give you the weekend to prepare, but I'm installing a new kitchen, and that will take a few days. So…”

Arthur couldn't even finish his sentence with how fast Merlin had interjected. “Oh I can do it right now, as long as you've got all the ingredients!” He smiled and there was something about that smile that was so enthusiastic that Arthur felt his own lips almost curling into one.

“Right,” Of course he didn't have any ingredients at the bakery, but that shouldn't be a problem, should it? “How about you'll get what you need and get me the receipt so I can pay for your expenses?” He eventually added and somehow that smile of Merlin got even bigger to the extent that it almost reached his ears.

“Sure! I'll be right back!”

-

And that was how Arthur ended up with a table full of desserts and pastries about two hours later. Most of them looked like something only his father would serve at his business dinners, where the men would enjoy a piece or two and the women would longingly stare at the wonderful food, but refuse to eat it since their dresses were already tighter than necessary and only the tiniest bite of anything would cause them to burst.

At least that was how Arthur felt when he watched them. The truth was he had never cared much for these parties. He had signed up for a business major because it was expected of him to take over his father’s company eventually and because he was good at what he was doing. Screw that, he was great at it, but that didn't mean that he necessarily wanted to be doing it for the rest of his life.

“Well…are you going to try them or not?” Merlin’s voice pulled Arthur from his thoughts and he looked up. Right. He had a bakery to run and an employee to test! “Because the Hot Chocolate French Toast is best eaten hot, like the name indicates,” Merlin then pointed out and Arthur raised an eyebrow at the man. He was getting cocky, and he couldn´t have that.

Instead of saying something, however, Arthur picked up the fork and took a bite out of said French toast and well, he might as well have died and went to heaven because damn, it was good! No, not only good, it was great, probably the best thing he had ever eaten! Fortunately for him, and not so much for Merlin, Arthur had learned to keep his emotions, and his facial expressions, in check. It came in handy with his father, but that was an entirely different matter now.

This man, Merlin, surely knew what he was doing, because the rest of the desserts he had created in just under two hours were just as good as the French toast. Though Arthur had to admit that the French toast might have been his new favorite, not that he would ever admit that out loud, but that didn´t change the facts.

“And? Did you like it?” Merlin finally asked after having stood idly by as Arthur had eaten. He was a nervous wreck, really, and sadly he wasn´t as good at hiding his emotions as Arthur was. He was shuffling from one foot to another, his tie had somehow become even more undone and Arthur was sure he would start biting his nails every second.

“Well,” he finally concluded, putting the fork away and standing up. “The desserts were very pleasing, both aesthetically and considering their taste, but I do have one more question for you, one that might determine your fate at this bakery.”

Merlin bit his lip as he glanced back at his possible future employer and really, he was just doing that so he wouldn’t actually start biting his nails, since that might have seemed a little unprofessional.

“…yes?”

“Do you know how to make macaroons?”

Merlin blinked and for a moment he didn´t say anything. Somehow he had expected an entirely different question. He wasn´t quite sure what kind of question he had expected, but it surely hadn´t been one about macaroons.

“I…yes. I do. That would have just taken a bit longer.” He finally answered with a nod, which Arthur mirrored.

“Good. Then you´re hired.”

-

Arthur wasn´t even sure why he had hired Merlin on the spot that day. He could have waited for more applicants, applicants that might have been even better at this than the man who had stood before him then, but something was telling him that he had made the right decision.

It turned out that Merlin wasn´t only a splendid baker, but also pretty skilled at painting. Surely, he almost knocked over a bucket of a paint here and there, but somehow he still managed to make the walls look fantastic. The bakery was slowly being returned to its former glory, like Arthur remembered it, and he had to admit that he was slowly starting to fall in love with the idea of owning this place. Or well, maybe _falling in love_ was a bit too much, but it suddenly didn´t seem like such a bad idea anymore.

It was on the third day of renovations and Arthur was going through the business plan he had set up while Merlin was painting the ceiling, when it happened. They had been working in silence, something Arthur had welcomed, when he found the door to the bakery flying open all of a sudden. It hit the wall, leaving a mark and both Merlin, who had almost slipped off the ladder he´d been standing on, and Arthur were surprised that the glass didn´t shatter.

“Arthur Pendragon!”

Arthur would have obviously recognized his father´s voice anywhere and yet he wished that he didn´t. He had looked up when the door had banged against the wall and his first instinct was to deescalate the situation. To make sure that Merlin wouldn´t be a part of this, but there was no time.

“Father,” he managed to keep a calm tone in his voice as he stood up a little straighter behind the counter. Truthfully, Arthur hadn´t expected Uther to actually show up here. It had been clear that his father would be upset, or annoyed, but it was hardly the first time and usually a phone call was enough to resolve things.

In retrospect it might not have helped that Arthur had been ignoring his father´s calls for about a week now.

“What were you thinking? I´ve let you do enough stupid things in your youth, which I overlooked for your benefit, but you´re a grown up now, Arthur and you can´t just go around making decisions that will ruin your future!” Uther´s voice was cold and yet Arthur detected a hint of rage, something he had never seen his father display, at least not in his presence. Of course Uther was human, in some way, and even he must have fallen subject to his emotions once in a while, but he had always made sure that neither of his children were around for that.

“I´m not ruining my future, father.” Arthur responded, trying to stay calm as he glanced over at Merlin, who was holding onto the ladder he was standing on, looking slightly mortified.

“Of course you are!” Uther shot back, waving his hand around the place. “This is going to go bankrupt within a few months, you can´t be making business decisions based on emotional attachment. You´ve got a perfectly reasonable job that pays well and that is preparing you for the time when you will take over my company. I will not have you give that all up just because you´re getting sentimental over…”

“That´s enough, father!” Arthur had slammed his hand onto the counter, a little surprise by the force behind his own words and actions. “I am enjoying myself and I don´t care what you say: I´ve made a business plan that looks very promising, I´ve got a great pastry chef with me on board and I am not letting you ruin this for me. What are you going to do anyways? Disown me?”

It felt as if Uther´s eyes were burning themselves into Arthur´s for a moment before he turned away, glancing up at the man on the ladder, slightly irritated. “I might just do that, Arthur. My patience is wearing very thin right now. You´ll have a week to get this silly idea out of your head and get back to work or you will feel the consequences,”

And with that the door was pulled shut again with the same force it had been opened, causing the bucket of paint Merlin had placed on one of the steps on the ladder to fall over, spilling all of its contents on the floor and the glass in the door to finally crack.

For a moment neither of them said a word and Arthur would have liked if it stayed this way, but of course Merlin had questions and even though Arthur didn´t want to deal with them he couldn´t blame the other man.

“What…was that?”

Technically, that was a rather easy question to answer, since Merlin had been there just a few moments ago, and yet Arthur was pretty sure that he wanted him to go deeper than what Merlin had just witnessed.

“Look, it´s nothing. Really.” _Or not something I want to talk about anyway._

Merlin raised an eyebrow as he climbed down from the ladder, carefully avoiding the puddle of paint on the floor. “That surely didn´t sound or look like nothing though,” he then answered and Arthur was really not in the mood to discuss his idiotic father and how he was afraid that Uther might have been right.

“Well if I say it´s nothing then it´s nothing. You don´t even know me. You´re my employee, not my friend.” And while that might have been the truth Arthur instantly felt bad after the words had left his mouth. They might have only met three days ago, but Merlin had been there every day to help with the renovations, even though that wasn´t part of his job description, and he had brought a dessert every morning. Arthur suspected it was to make up for the fact that he simply couldn´t seem to shut up, but he hadn´t minded.

Silence spread out in the small shop and Arthur should have probably said something and yet he simply picked up his papers and headed for the door, not even caring that he was stepping right into the paint.

Honest talks weren´t something he was particularly good at and the worst thing about that was, that it was entirely Uther´s fault. Arthur had never learned how to really trust anyone but Morgana, which in itself was bad enough, and he hated his father a little more for that.

-

It took Arthur a few hours to return to the shop. He had 12 missed calls from Morgana and a bunch of text messages, including a few from Leon, Morgana´s ex. Arthur was pretty sure she had persuaded him to text him to see if he was alright and while that was kind of sweet it was also slightly weird.

 

The bakery was illuminated when Arthur eventually returned, the light falling onto the pavement through the window. The crack in the glass door was the only reminder of Uther´s visit, because Merlin had cleaned up the floor and even finished painting the walls.

He was currently rummaging in the kitchen, or at least that was what Arthur hoped, because otherwise some stranger was having a blast with the expensive new kitchen he had installed just two days ago.

The bell above the door indicated Arthur's return and Merlin poked his head out of the kitchen, giving him a somewhat smile.

“Oh good, I was beginning to think you weren't going to come back at all,” he told him and Arthur wasn't even sure what to say. If someone would have stormed out on him like he had done on Merlin he wasn't sure if he had stayed around, let alone finished the work to be done. “Sit, I've got something you might like,”

Only now Arthur noticed the familiar smell that hung in the air and for a moment he felt like he was five years old again. He hung his bag over the chair and sat down, waiting for Merlin to return from the kitchen. When he did he was smiling more brightly than just moments before and carrying a tray which he put down onto the table in front of Arthur.

Arthur had expected the macaroons, having known that smell ever since he could remember, but what he hadn't expected was the way his eyes suddenly started to fill with tears. Merlin noticed, of course, and his face fell, thinking he must have done something wrong.

“I…I'm sorry. I thought you'd like them, since you especially asked for them on the first day. I didn't mean to upset you,”

Arthur held back a sigh, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand. He couldn't even remember when he had last cried, let alone in front of anyone. Thinking about it now Arthur realized he might have only ever cried in front of Morgana and that hadn't been one of his finest moments.

It took Arthur a minute to realize that Merlin was still standing next to him, looking as if he'd start crying too and Arthur really didn't want to deal with that. He had never really been good with emotions and that wasn't about to change now.

“No, you're right. Thank you.” Arthur managed, still fighting the tears. “These look great,” He reached for one of the macaroons, his hand shaking slightly.

Merlin sat down across from him and watched as Arthur slid a macaroon into his mouth. It felt oddly intimate and Arthur couldn't bring himself to look at the other man. This was a childhood memory, his most treasured one actually, and he hadn't shared it with anyone, not even Morgana. Something was telling Arthur that he at least owed Merlin an explanation for his father’s outburst, especially if they were going to go through with this whole thing.

He could feel the familiar taste of the macaroon in his mouth and sighed as he finally lifted his gaze to meet Merlin’s eyes.

“I'm sorry you've seen my father like this. He's usually…a little more composed.”

Merlin couldn't help the small chuckle that fell from his lip then and when he saw the slight irritation on Arthur's face he clasped a hand over his mouth.

“Sorry,” he then muttered, shaking his head. “It's just…that was still pretty composed to me. Apart from ruining the door. It was still pretty mean, though.”

Now it was Arthur´s turn to chuckle. “Oh you haven't seen my father when he's really composed. Compared to that his earlier appearance was the eruption of a volcano.” Arthur shook his head as he reached for another macaroon. “These are really good,” he then added, offering Merlin a small smile before pushing the tray towards him.

Merlin returned the smile and picked up one for himself. “Well I didn't know your favorite flavor so I went with strawberry for starters,”

“Strawberry was my mother’s favorite,” Arthur replied without thinking and suddenly felt his stomach tying into knots. He hadn't meant to say that out loud.

Merlin noticed the change in Arthur's behavior and while he wanted to ask more questions he chose not to, not wanting to intrude on anything personal, he barely knew Arthur after all.

“Well your mother has good taste. You can wrap these up and take them home, it’s late, and I’ll see you tomorrow, yeah?” Merlin smiled as he grabbed his bag and headed for the door.

 _Had._ Arthur thought. _She had good taste._

-

The next day Arthur felt much better. Still, he couldn't quite get rid of the unsettling feeling in his stomach. Merlin had come in early with a homemade French apple pie and honestly Arthur would have to make sure he wasn't going to get fat if this continued. Merlin’s creations were too good not to taste them though and maybe Morgana had been right when she'd been talking about comfort food to him that one time.  Seeing the other man coming in with a nice, tasty dessert and getting to taste said dessert made Arthur instantly feel better.

Not that Arthur would ever admit that, let alone tell Morgana she'd been right about something, but still.

Arthur was sitting at the table by the window, going over his files and waiting for the clock to strike 9 so he could call up somebody to fix the broken glass door, while Merlin was behind the counter, babbling on about what desserts they could be serving.

It was comfortable, almost relaxing, and Arthur didn't even mind the constant chatter. It distracted him from his thoughts, which were haunted by what his father had said. Was this business doomed to fail? Arthur was good at his job, he knew all there was to know about running a business, like his father, but apparently Uther was convinced that there was no chance that this could work out. Maybe they both had different opinions on what _working out_ meant though. Arthur assumed that for his father it meant that you'd make a huge amount of money, joined some club and got invited to all the important events and even though that was what he had been trying to put into Arthur's mind all these years, Arthur thought differently.

So what if he wasn't invited to all the boring parties? What if he didn’t make the list of Great Britain’s most influential people? What if being successful, to him, meant that he could run a small business, actually enjoy the work he was doing and was able to pay his rent?

Not that his father would ever understand that.

Arthur held back a sigh as he glanced over at Merlin, who was talking about the different kind of French toasts one could serve and if Arthur only wanted to sell dessert people could take with them, like cupcakes and macaroons or if he also wanted to serve things that could potentially only be served in house, like the French toast.

“My mother died.”

Arthur wasn't sure why those were the words that had come out for his mouth when he had most definitely been wanting to say something about French toast, but now there was no taking back.

Merlin had stopped talking and his face had turned a whiter shade of pale. “I…I'm so sorry, Arthur,” he managed and it was only then that Arthur realized how this must have sounded.

“No, that's not what I meant.” He was quick to say then. “She died when I was really young. This bakery…we used to come here on our way to preschool. My mother loved walks, but my father insisted she'd take the car if she took me to school and then we always stopped here and got macaroons.”

It only seemed fair to be telling Merlin the truth, he had been front row center for Uther’s guilt trip show and if they were going to do this it surely wouldn't be the last time Merlin would have to deal with him.

The wheels in Merlin’s head were turning and he understood. Now this all made a whole lot more sense than it had yesterday. He moved around the counter and towards Arthur, sliding into the seat opposite of him.

“So you've bought this bakery…”

“Because they were going to do God knows what with it. “Arthur finished and only noticed that Merlin had reached out for his hand when it had already happened. Arthur had never been big on physical contact, or at least he had pretended not to be, but there was something about the warmth of Merlin’s hand that made him feel a lot better.

He glanced down at where the other man’s hand was resting on top of his as he was almost absent minded drawing small circles with his thumb.

“My father was right when he said I made this purchase based on emotional attachment, but that doesn't mean we can't make this work. I took a leave at work to sort it all out, but I might just quit and put all my time in here. If you're up for it,”

It seemed strange to be leaving that decision up to Merlin, because Arthur could have found someone else to do his job, but there was just something about the other man that was different. After all Arthur had told him about his mother and the real reason why he had bought this bakery after having known him for about five days and that alone was strange enough.

Still, there was something about the way he smiled and how the simple touch of his hand could calm Arthur down that made him want to quit right now and personally deliver that letter of resignation to his father.

Which would have obviously been a terrible idea, but still.

“Oh I'm most definitely up for that.” Merlin eventually replied and he still hadn't let go of Arthur's hand. “I really do need this job. My father…he left when I was a baby, and I'm from this really small town up north. My Mom wanted me to get out of there to get a good job and so I moved in with my uncle, who works in one of the pharmacies in the city. I don't want to be a burden to him and I want to send my Mom some money, so yes. I'm totally up for this, in case I hadn't mentioned that.”

Merlin was grinning, the normal color having returned to his face, and Arthur couldn't help the way the corners of his mouth lifted.

“Just one thing,”

“…what?” Arthur's smile froze momentarily as he glanced back at Merlin. The other man’s touch seemed to be getting warmer and warmer and suddenly Arthur was having trouble to keep his heart beat at a normal rate.

“You said your mother’s favorite flavor was strawberry, but you never actually told me yours.”

Arthur let out a laugh.

“Chocolate. It's chocolate.”

-

The next day Merlin showed up with chocolate macaroons and they tasted even better than the ones Arthur remembered buying with his mother. Merlin really was good at what he was doing and aside from the constant babbling and the clumsiness he seemed to display at almost everything other than baking Arthur had to admit that he liked having the man around. And maybe they could make this work.

Of course his father´s threat to disown him was still dangling above Arthur like the Damocles sword and yet he found himself wanting to do this more and more. He had saved enough money from his job to keep paying his rent and to get everything at the bakery set up and running for a few months and if they stuck to the plan and everything worked out he´d be fine. And maybe Uther would come around once he saw that Arthur could make this work, he was still talking to Morgana after all, even though she had refused to work at his company and signed up for an art major instead.

It was three days after Uther had shown up at the bakery and Arthur had just finished going over the list of ingredients they would need in order to make all the pastries and desserts Merlin and him had agreed on selling when his phone rang. It was Leon´s caller ID and Arthur frowned. Leon and him were good friends, and had remained so even after Morgana and him had broken things off, but usually they texted each other or went out to the pub, Arthur couldn´t remember the last time they had actually talked on the phone.

“Leon? What´s up?”

“So I´ve heard you´re quitting your job and that Uther has set you an ultimatum to return or otherwise he´ll disown you? Was this your masterplan all along, Arthur? To set him all up to believe you´d inherit his empire and then have him trip over his own feet and fall flat on his face? Because if that´s the case then I´ll have to say: I´ve never been more proud of you, brother dear.”

There was a chuckle on the other end of the line.

“Morgana?”

“Yes, Arthur. Unless this is the way Leon usually talks to you, then I might need to have a talk with him.” Morgana let out another chuckle. “And before you ask: No. Leon and I aren´t back together. I was just sure you weren´t going to answer the call if you saw it was me so I had to get around that,” She then added and Arthur could practically see her grin through the phone.

„I am, however, not calling to talk to you about your evil master plan to bring down our father,” Morgana then continued. “I've actually got a favor to ask.”

Arthur hadn't been particularly interested in talking to Morgana, especially not about their father, but the fact that she had a favor to ask made him stop and reconsider. Morgana was the type of person to both ask and receive or to simply take what she wanted. She didn't like owing anyone a favor, especially not Arthur.

“Alright. You lost me at evil master plan, but you had me again at favor. Now what is it I could do for you, my beloved sister?” Arthur couldn't help but tease and he was sure Morgana would have hung up on him if she hadn't needed a favor.

“I'm opening this exhibition on Saturday and I've been talking with this other great artist whose work I want to display and I asked her if she wants to be my date for Saturday,”

“She?”

Arthur could practically imagine how Morgana was rolling her eyes at him. “Just because I haven't dated a girl since college doesn't mean I stopped being interested in them.”

“Right. None of my business anyway,” Arthur interjected, “But what do you need me for?” He wasn't quite sure in which direction this was going and Arthur didn’t like not knowing things.

“Well she said she'd love to, but also asked if I had someone to go with her friend, because she had made plans to meet up with him. And before you say anything, he's cute and nice and maybe even your type.”

“You don't even know what my type is, Morgana.” Arthur complained and glanced over at the kitchen, where Merlin was sorting out things. He had shuffled away when Arthur's phone had rung and he had to admit that he was glad about that. Merlin might have known more about him than he had intended him to, but he didn't need to know about Arthur's practically nonexistent love life.

“Yes I do. Please, Arthur? I'll even hand out business cards from your bakery to all of the guests. You can use the boost now that Uther’s going to disown you. Besides, she told me he's cute and nice and you could use some of that after…”

“Fine,” Arthur cut her off, almost hissing the word out. “But just because I need to get the business out there.”

“Awesome. I'll see you on Saturday. Don't forget to be nice. I love you!”

“The hell you do…” Arthur muttered into the phone, but Morgana had already hung up.

-

Arthur had left Merlin to get the ingredients they needed while he had gone off to print some business cards and maybe even a few flyers so they could get the word out there before they would open on Monday.

He wasn't exactly fond of going to that party, let alone with a blind date, but the people who came to Morganas gallery probably enjoyed desserts and if he ended up making a few contacts they could maybe even deliver cupcakes or other desserts to parties or other exhibitions.

When Saturday came around however, Arthur's mood had gone downhill. Now he would have to pretend to care about these kind of events and be all happy and smiley. He was so over these kind of gatherings, even though he did usually enjoy the art displayed at Morganas gallery.

“Hey, Arthur?” Merlin’s voice pulled him from his thoughts and Arthur turned to look at the other man. “Do you mind if I bugger off now? I kinda got somewhere to be,” Merlin was fiddling with the hem of his shirt, something Arthur would have noticed if he hadn’t still been thinking about the exhibition.

“No. Not at all,” He then replied, opting for a somewhat smile. “Technically you don't start until Monday anyways. But could you do me a favor and pick up the flyers? Maybe even distribute some on the way to where you're going.”

Merlin’s lips curled into a smile and he slung his bag over his shoulder before heading for the door.

“Merlin, wait!” Arthur then called and the other man spun around at the door.

“Yes?”

“Thank you,”

Merlin’s smile got even brighter at Arthur's words. “You're welcome.”

-

The party didn't seem half as bad when Arthur arrived there. The art was a little too abstract and modern for his taste, but the people who were already there seemed to enjoy it. Everyone was in a good mood, chattering and eating snacks from the trays that the waiters were carrying around. Arthur picked up a glass of champagne from one of the other trays and looked around for Morgana. She wasn't hard to miss with her long dark hair and the tights green dress she was wearing and if that wasn't enough,  then her bright laughter that echoed through the gallery would have lead  Arthur straight to her.

She was talking to a brown haired woman, who was wearing a cute, colorful dress and who seemed to be laughing at something Morgana had said. Arthur downed his glass of champagne in one go, instantly regretting it, before making his way over to Morgana.

Her smile got even brighter the moment she recognized him and soon he found her arms wrapped around him in a hug.

“Arthur!” She exclaimed then, pulling back and gesturing at the woman next to her. “This is Gwen, the artist I was telling you about,” Morgana´s eyes were saying something the lines of _Didn't I tell you she was cute?_ And Arthur hated himself a little for understanding the looks she was giving him so easily.

“Arthur was it, right?” The brown haired woman, Gwen, smiled and held out her hand for Arthur to take it, which he did. “It nice to meet you,”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you too,” Arthur replied, managing a smile. Gwen really did look nice and Arthur could see why Morgana liked her.

“Your date will be here soon.” Morgana grinned before getting herself a glass of champagne from one of the trays that passed them by. Arthur took it from her instantly though and took a large gulp, which resulted in Morgana rolling her eyes at him.

“Yes, he’ll be here soon. He had something work related.” Gwen interjected with a smile. “In fact, there he is!” She raised a hand to wave towards the entrance as her smile got a little brighter.

“Play nice,” Morgana whispered and now Arthur rolled his eyes and took another sip of his champagne before he turned around.

Truthfully, it took him a moment to get the hang of it, because for a minute he wondered what the hell Merlin was doing here. When he had told him that he had somewhere to be Arthur hadn't expected that place to be Morgana´s art gallery.

He was wearing the same suit he had worn the day of the interview and he seemed to be just as surprised to see Arthur here. He didn't manage to say anything however, because Gwen had engulfed him into a hug now that he had reached them.

 “Merlin, I'm so glad you made it!” Gwen was smiling brightly before she turned towards Arthur and Morgana and it was then that Arthur realized what was happening,

_Oh no._

He could feel his stomach tying up into knots and it might have taken Merlin a moment longer than Arthur, but now he seemed to realize what they had gotten themselves into as well.

“Arthur, this is my best friend Merlin. Merlin, this is Arthur. Morgana´s brother,”

Merlin nodded, either too stunned or terrified to say something, and Arthur couldn't help himself.

“We have to get you a new suit,”

That comment made Merlin blush and before Arthur could even continue he was swatted across the arm by Morgana.

“Don't be rude, Arthur!” She shunned him and Arthur rolled his eyes, rubbing over the spot where Morgana had hit him.

“I'm not being rude. Morgana, meet Merlin. My new pastry chef. Merlin, this is my step sister Morgana.”

Merlin, who was looking a lot less terrified now, but still blushing, held out a hand to Morgana and she shook it, shooting Arthur another look.

 _Don't you even dare,_ He thought and it must have conveyed through his looks, because Morgana linked her arm with Gwen’s and shuffled off with a “You boys enjoy yourselves!”

Arthur shook his head and watched her disappear between the people before taking another sip of his drink.

“I'm so sorry.” Merlin then sighed, running a hand through his hair and then slightly panicking because he had ruined what had taken him an hour in front of the mirror. “I normally don't do these things, but Gwen and I were going to meet up and then she got asked out by your sister and she really wanted to go.” He shrugged his shoulders. “And she's my best friend, so I said yes. I didn't think you were going to be the guy I was going on a date with,”

He was biting his lip and for a moment Arthur was mesmerized by that action, as simple as it was. He shook his head then and downed what was left of his champagne before turning to glance at the crowd of people once more.

“Don't worry about it. I didn't know either. I'm only here because Morgana promised to hand out our business cards to every party guest if I came along. Seems like she really wanted to go on that date. Gwen seems nice though,”

He smiled and now Merlin was finally relaxing a little, picking up some of the food from a tray the waiter was carrying. “She is. She's my best friend. She used to help out at the pharmacy my uncle works at and whenever I was there we talked. She's the kindest person I've ever met.”

Merlin was smiling now, a warm genuine smile that somehow untied the knots in Arthur's stomach and the corners of his mouth lifted.

“Well. I'm not going to lie, Morgana is a handful. She and I fight a lot, but she's the only person I fully trust with everything.” Arthur frowned for a moment, shaking his head. “Don't tell her I said that though, or I'll never hear the end of it.”

Merlin couldn't help the chuckle that fell from his lips then and he nodded. “Noted. Don't tell Morgana she's actually a wonderful person,”

“Exactly. Now come on. We might as well make the best of this and hand out some cards,”

-

The evening didn't go as awkward as Arthur had first thought it would. Merlin was very enthusiastic about getting their business out there and he was a lot more relaxed now. A look that Arthur thought suited him well.

He also had to admit that he didn't hate this whole gathering as much as he had thought he would. Whenever his father had taken him to these kind of things he had hated putting on a smile and talking about things that always seemed so pointless, but now he actually found himself talking about his business plan and the dishes they had chosen to sell. He couldn't help the chuckle that fell from his lips when he called for Merlin to introduce him to someone and found the other man with a mouthful of snacks, blushing madly. And he didn't even mind Morgana, who was smirking at him every time she passed him in the gallery.

All in all Arthur has had attended worse parties and he's had worse dates, much worse actually, even if this technically wasn't a date. More like a business venture.

He shook his head as he shuffled over to where Morgana and Gwen were standing in a corner, talking and laughing. They'd make a great couple just from the looks of it, Arthur had to admit that.

”Morgana?” He tapped her shoulder then and she turned around, offering him a smile. “I think Merlin and I are heading off. We've still got some things to prepare for Monday.” _And I have to mentally prepare myself for our fathers rage._

“Together?” Morgana asked with a slight smirk and for once Arthur's mood was too good to be annoyed by her.

“We're sharing a taxi yes, now bugger off.”

Because this wasn't a date. Obviously.

-

They had called themselves a cab after Gwen had said goodbye to Merlin and Arthur couldn't help but feel a little curious about where Merlin lived. He felt like he barely knew anything about the other man, even though Merlin had told him about his father and where he was originally from.

The building in front of which the cab stopped was average at best and still it looked like it could serve as a home. Arthur's apartment might have been fancy and yet he barely felt as if he lived there at all, which might have been due to the fact that he spent more time at work than at home.

“How much do I owe you?” Arthur glanced over at Merlin who had pulled out his wallet and seemed to be ready to pay.

“Oh no, keep that.” Arthur responded quickly and shook his head before Merlin could protest. “You've worked so hard this whole week even if you didn't have to help with the renovations. The least I can do is pay for the ride home.”

Merlin’s lips curled into a smile and he rested his hand on Arthur's thigh for a moment. A completely innocent gesture and yet Arthur couldn't help but feel his cheeks burning up slightly.

_What the hell?_

Fortunately the light in the car was very dim so Merlin didn't notice. Or maybe he didn't notice because he was Merlin or maybe Arthur was overthinking things.

“I'll see you on Monday then,” Merlin smiled and Arthur nodded, completely missing the fact that the door had already been shut and the cab was moving. 

-

Arthur had put out an ad about the opening in the Sunday paper and written a few emails to his friends, inviting them to come by the bakery. He had even spent most of the day walking around town, handing out flyers to people, mostly to avoid thinking about Merlin. Arthur also avoided Morgana´s gallery and the area around it, even though he was sure she wasn´t working today.

Coming to think of it now he was surprised she hadn´t called him to talk about yesterday yet. Which either meant that she was still asleep in bed with her date or something had happened to her. Gwen hadn´t seemed like the type of girl to go home with someone on the first date though, Arthur knew that type all too well, and he was almost tempted to pull out his phone and send Morgana a text, but then he thought better of it.

It was more likely that Morgana was fine and just asleep, because honestly, if anyone would have taken her hostage last night they would have given her back by now.

So instead he chose to return home to watch the game that was on TV, mostly because it distracted him from the fact that his father would most likely disown him when he found Arthur´s letter of resignation on his desk by tomorrow morning.

And because Uther hated football. He thought it to be a waste of time, and money, even if Arthur had been quite good at it back in school and college. Whenever he had been annoyed with his father he had considered going pro just to piss him off and while he ultimately hadn´t gone down that road it had simply taken Arthur a little longer to completely ruin what was left of the relationship with his father.

-

Arthur arrived at the bakery at 7am sharp the next day and yet the light was already on. Merlin was bustling around in the kitchen, a broad grin on his face when Arthur poked his head inside.

“This is exciting, isn´t it?” Merlin asked and there was a bit of powdered sugar smeared across his cheek, which somehow proved to be rather distracting to Arthur. “I´ve been thinking, we should sell the macaroons in a small box, you know? I mean the chocolate and strawberry ones. Three of each, we´ll make that our specialty.”

Arthur blinked and simply nodded, his heart skipping a beat. Merlin had remembered. Not that it had been a long time ago that he had shared his mother´s and his own favorite flavor, but Arthur was sure that none of his colleagues at his father´s company would have remembered or simply not cared enough to even listen.

Merlin did care though, he seemed to care quite a lot in general, something Arthur wasn´t used to.

“Yeah. Sounds like a plan,” He then eventually managed with another nod. “I´ll leave you to it,” And with that Arthur retreated back to the front of the shop. They had decorated everything in a simple manner, had put up flowers on the three tables in the corners, his mother´s favorites, and the crack in the glass door was gone too.

They had decided to open at 8am so they might get a chance to be seen by people who were on their way to work. Arthur had put up the sign that said _Grand Reopening!_ In the small window and the sign that stood next to the entrance on which Merlin had written a few welcoming words.

Arthur couldn´t deny that he was a little nervous. Not only because it would probably take less than two hours for his father to find his son´s letter of resignation on his desk, but also about the whole opening in general. They needed to be off to a good start, because he wasn´t sure what he´d do if they failed. Arthur didn´t need to earn as much money as his father, that was actually quite impossible considering how different their work places were, but he needed to earn at least enough money to keep the bakery going, to pay his rent, and to pay Merlin.

It was a five to eight when Merlin joined him in the front, a smile on his face and a tray with macaroons in his hands. “I thought we could hand them out to people to taste,” He suggested, “Here, you want one?” He picked up one of the chocolate ones and held it out for Arthur who, despite his nervousness, couldn´t resist.

“Don´t let me eat all of these,” He then joked. “Or there won´t be any left for the potential customers,” It wouldn´t be that bad, really, but still. Arthur didn´t want to risk anything.

Merlin let out a laugh at his words, shaking his head. “You better watch out then, wouldn´t want you getting too fat,” He chuckled, pulling the tray away and heading for the door.

“Hey!” Arthur called after him, “Did you just call me fat?”

Merlin shook his head as he glanced back at Arthur over his shoulder, the smile still on his face. “No, I´m just looking out for you,”

And Arthur didn´t have a response to that.

-

There wasn´t an overwhelming crowd of customers to begin with, but a lot of people walked by and tasted the macaroons Merlin was presenting and most of them took a flyer with them too. By noon they had sold quite a few things already and Arthur was beginning to relax a little. Most people would probably come by in the afternoon, considering the statistics, but it could have been a lot worse.

Merlin was back in the kitchen, getting the Hot Chocolate French toast, which had been ordered by two customers, ready and Arthur was talking to someone who had been a regular customer at the bakery while it had still belonged to its former owners, when the doorbell rang.

“This is cuter than I remember,” A familiar voice sounded through the shop and Arthur glanced up at the door. “Since when do you have a sense of interior design, Arthur?”

“Morgana.”

Arthur excused himself from the talk he´d been having and headed towards his sister, who had just entered the shop, followed by Gwen. _At least she´s not dead._ Arthur found himself thinking as Morgana pressed a kiss to his cheek and Gwen gave him a little wave.

“Just because I don´t do something very often doesn´t mean I don´t know how to do it,” He finally responded.

“Merlin did the decorations, didn´t he?” Gwen asked without thinking and Morgana´s lips curled into a smirk. Arthur simply glared at his step sister and Gwen blushed the moment she noticed she might have said something wrong.

“Arthur, the French Toast is ready!” Merlin called, suddenly the center of attention as he placed the two plates onto the counter.

“Gwen, Morgana. I didn´t know you were coming.” His lips curled into a bright smile and there was something on his face again, whether it was flour or powdered sugar, Arthur couldn´t tell, but it was still very distracting. He hadn´t even noticed he had been staring until Morgana elbowed him in the side and then walked towards Merlin with a grin.

“Merlin, it´s so nice to see you again,” She smiled, pressing a kiss to his cheek too before grabbing the two plates and carrying them over to the table. “And Arthur, you might want to work on your customer skills,”

Arthur rolled his eyes at her, trying to ignore the pain in his side. “Do you want something or did you just come here to make my life significantly harder than it has to be?”

Morgana simply laughed as she sat down at the free table, gesturing for Gwen to do the same. “We´ll take the specialty. And that French toast, because it looks heavenly. And of course coffee,” She winked at Arthur and then gave Merlin the sweetest smile, who returned it.

“Coming right up,” he replied with a nod and disappeared into the kitchen.

Arthur followed suit, not wanting to risk giving into the temptation to eventually throw something at Morgana.

“I hate her.” He stated as he leaned against the counter, causing Merlin to chuckle.

“No you don´t.”

“How would you know?” Arthur asked, watching as Merlin stirred the chocolate sauce for the French toast.

“Because I do. She cares about you, that´s obvious. Otherwise she wouldn´t be here. She trusts you, because otherwise she wouldn’t have called you up to ask you that favor of going on the double date. I bet she knows enough guys who would have gone out with me. And you…well it´s the way you look at her and how you let her close to you without putting up any self-defense, well…aside from your sarcasm, but that´s easy to spy through. The way you talk and act around her is different from how you act around your father, even though I´ve only ever seen him once with you,” Merlin stopped stirring and glanced at Arthur. “Sorry…I´m babbling.” He shrugged his shoulders, a slight blush creeping onto his cheeks, the cheeks that were still stained with what Arthur could now see was powdered sugar. ”But what I meant to say is that you care for each other, the both of you.” Merlin concluded then and Arthur couldn´t really help himself.

He nodded and reached out to brush his fingers over Merlin´s cheek, wiping away the ingredients that should have gone onto the French Toast.

For a moment neither of them said a word and Merlin´s cheeks burned even brighter. He should have been done by now, he should have taken his hand away from the other man´s face, but there was something oddly fascinating about Merlin´s cheekbones and about how warm the man´s face felt under his touch.

“Arthur, you have customers!” It was Morgana´s voice that broke the spell and which gave Merlin the chance to concentrate on the preparation of the food while Arthur turned away to head back to the front of the shop, his heart beating oddly fast in his chest.

-

Morgana insisted on paying for the food they had eaten and Arthur insisted on seeing her out while Gwen went into the back to say goodbye to Merlin.

“So…what do you think?” A tiny part of Arthur already regretted the question the moment the words had left his mouth, but now that it was out he couldn´t take it back.

“I think you like him,” Morgana´s response came with a smile and it took Arthur a moment to realize what she was talking about. He was blushing though and he hated himself, and her, even more for that.

“I was…” he began, but Morgana waved him off.

“…talking about the bakery, I know.” She finished the sentence, the smile never wavering. “And I wasn´t. But you know that too. I see the way you look at him, Arthur. And I haven´t seen that look in a while,”

Arthur shrugged his shoulders, because he honestly didn´t know what else to say to her. He couldn´t fool Morgana, even if saying nothing equaled agreeing with her. Fortunately Gwen chose that exact moment to join them and Arthur was saved. For now.

Morgana kissed his cheek and gave him a wink before she linked her arm with Gwen´s and then they were off.

The rest of the day Arthur was too busy to think about Morgana´s words, luckily, but he also made sure to stay out of the kitchen. They closed the shop at 6.30, and Arthur had to admit that he was feeling a little relieved at how well everything had gone down.

Merlin had cleaned up the kitchen while Arthur had taken care of the money and the front of the shop. They probably wouldn´t earn this much money every day, considering this had been opening day, but Arthur had done the math in his head and if they kept going like this they would be fine.

Merlin joined him in the front of the shop eventually, looking pretty beat, but smiling still. Arthur returned the smile without even knowing, leaning against one of the tables.

“Alright, we open at eight. Considering you´ll need at least an hour of preparation beforehand I´ll say you can leave the shop by five or five thirty. You don´t have to stay until we close. You´ll still get paid fully, of course.”

Merlin slipped into his jacket, the smile still on his face. “Oh, I don´t mind. Really. I like working with you,”

Arthur wasn´t sure how words as simple as that could instantly lift his mood and even make him forget just how tired he was. And he wasn´t quite sure if he wanted to know at all.

“Your father didn´t show.” Merlin the added and Arthur looked over at him, shrugging his shoulders.

“Either he hasn´t opened my letter of resignation yet or he just decided to disown me right away.” It sounded terrible when he said it out loud, but considering he had already enjoyed himself more this week working in the bakery than he had in all of his career spent at his father´s company, Arthur thought that he´d be alright.

“Well. He´s missing out on something great.” Merlin smiled, his hand briefly resting on Arthur´s shoulder, another one of these things that affected him more than it should have. “I´ll see you tomorrow, yeah?”

-

The next day was a little quieter, but neither of them minded. Merlin had time to try out some new recipes and Arthur finally managed to read the entire newspaper without being disturbed by anyone. Wednesday to Friday were busier and Arthur was slowly getting the hang of it all. Sure, he was still working at least ten hours a day, but it wasn´t as draining as sitting behind a desk and reading through contracts and numbers all day.

And the company here was much better, too.

When Arthur came in on Saturday morning though he found that something was different. Merlin was, of course, already there and bustling around in the kitchen, but for some reason there was a rainbow flag hung up on the wall beside the counter and flowers in all kinds of different colors on the tables.

“Merlin?” Arthur asked with a frown, turning towards the kitchen, from which Merlin emerged, carrying a tray of cupcakes, which were decorated with small rainbows.

“Yeah?” The other man asked, his smile wide and for a moment Arthur forgot what he had been meaning to ask.

 _Damn you, Morgana._ He thought, trying to steer his thoughts away from Merlin and back to the cupcakes, though these two were obviously linked. “What is going on here?” Arthur gestured around and only now noticed that Merlin himself had a small, painted rainbow flag on his cheek.

Merlin looked back at him, slightly confused and Arthur had a feeling that he was missing something. “Well. It´s pride weekend and we´re close to where the parade is going to pass. Sorry. I…kinda assumed you knew that, you know, because Morgana set you up for a blind date with a guy.”

Arthur needed a moment as the wheels started turning in his head. Right. The boys had dragged him along to the parade once, while he had still been dating Sophia, and while he had enjoyed himself Arthur had never gone again. He had always worked on the weekends anyways, and as much as it would have probably pissed off Uther if he had asked him whether or not he could take the day off to go to a parade, Arthur hadn´t bothered.

“I…thought it would be a good idea. Everybody loves cupcakes, and pretty much everyone who goes to that parade loves rainbows, so…” Merlin trailed off and Arthur instantly felt bad, even though he hadn´t even done anything to feel bad about.

“No. No. It´s great.” He was quick to say then, maybe a little too desperate to get that smile back on the other man´s face. “I just…didn´t think of it.” And he really hadn´t. “And these cupcakes look delicious,”

There it was again, that smile which made his heart skip a beat and made him go weak in the knees. It was also partly the reason why Arthur found himself sitting on a chair ten minutes later, his face tilted towards the light, while Merlin painted a rainbow flag on his cheek.

Arthur had to remind himself to breathe ever so often and then there was the fact that he simply couldn´t help but stare. Merlin was even prettier up close, his pale skin a contrast to his blue eyes and his high, defined cheekbones making him look even more delicate.

Arthur felt the need to say something. To strike up some kind of conversation before he went insane, but he couldn´t even get his thoughts sorted out, because he was quickly interrupted by his vibrating phone.

Merlin glanced down at the table and then took a step back, admiring his work, while Arthur let out a breath and reached for his phone.

It was a picture Morgana had sent him, one of Gwen and her, Morgana with rainbow lipstick and Gwen with flowers in her hair. Arthur assumed they were going to the parade and he had to admit that they did make quite the beautiful couple. Along with the picture there was a message, asking if they were open today. Arthur sent back a quick _Yeah_ before holding the phone out to Merlin so he could see the picture.

“Wow. They´re really cute together.” Merlin beamed, his smile somehow managing to get even brighter. “We should send them one back!”

And before Arthur could even say anything Merlin had pulled him into a standing position and he found himself next to the other man, his cheek pressed against Merlin´s, with a phone being held up in front of his face.

“Come on, you gotta smile, Arthur!”

He could see Merlin grinning back at him from the screen and it was absurd, because he wasn´t that big of a picture guy, and he usually didn´t like to be told what to do, but at Merlin´s request Arthur´s lips had instantly curled into a smile. He was happy. For the first time in a long while he was happy, and he didn´t even care about the comment Morgana would make when he pressed _send_.

-

The day went by in a blur of colors and laughter and Arthur couldn´t even remember the last time he´s had that much fun. The rainbow cupcakes were a hit and Merlin had eventually turned up the radio so whenever people from the parade had come in things had turned into a spontaneous dance party.

Most of the people who bought cupcakes took pictures with them too and Arthur made a mental note to himself to set up an Instagram account for the bakery, just to make sure they were up to date and besides, it was easier to reach people over the social media platforms.

The people seemed to have taken a liking to Merlin as well, calling him _cute_ and _adorable_ and wanting to take pictures with the ‘genius who baked these cupcakes’ and Arthur couldn´t help but notice how Merlin ducked his head every time, his cheeks burning brightly.

It was adorable. And Arthur could feel his heart beating a little faster every time he watched him interact with the customers, that bright smile of his very well being able to light up the entire damn shop.

It was around five when things started to slow down and Arthur had a moment to wonder why Morgana and Gwen hadn´t come by. Not that they had specifically told them that they would, but he had assumed they´d at least stop by. She hadn’t responded to his picture message either, which wasn´t common for her, especially not since she had been so insistent on him liking Merlin.

He leaned against the counter and pulled out his phone, debating on whether or not he should text her, when Merlin joined him from the kitchen.

“Alright, I´ve finished the last batch, if nobody comes in to buy them I´ll just eat them myself,” He declared with a smile. “This was a good idea, wasn´t it?”

Arthur couldn´t disagree with that, not when he had actually enjoyed himself and when they had made quite a lot of money. Surprisingly enough he cared a lot more about the fun though than he did about the money and suddenly he was reminded of how growing up everyone had always told him that he was just like his father.

But he wasn´t. And it had taken Merlin and an old bakery from his childhood to prove that.

 _Life goes in strange ways,_ Morgana would have told him if she were here and Arthur shook his head. She was right more often than he would like to admit, but it didn’t matter, because Morgana knew very well that she was right.

He glanced over at Merlin and couldn´t quite hold back the chuckle that fell from his lips then. “What exactly is it you do back there that you always end up looking like this?”

There was more powdered sugar smeared across his cheek, almost completely covering up the rainbow flag Merlin had painted on himself, and Arthur reached out to brush it away. He had gotten used to the way his heart was beating faster whenever he was too close to the other man, but right now it was also getting a little harder to breathe with how Merlin was looking up at him, blue eyes searching his own for something Arthur couldn´t quite define.

“Arthur?” Merlin eventually asked into the silence, his eyes never wavering from the other man. “Are you…gay?”

It surely wasn´t the question Arthur had expected to be asked and he had to admit that it threw him off track a little. His hand was still resting against Merlin´s cheek and for a moment Arthur just concentrated on his own heartbeat. Half of his brain was yelling at him to run for his life and as far away as he could, but somehow he couldn´t move and considering there were only a few inches between them and his hand was still on Merlin´s face, thumb tracing over the other man´s cheek, Arthur figured he owed him somewhat of an answer.

“I don´t know.” He honestly replied then. “I never really dated a guy…I´ve only ever been with a couple ever since my ex fiancée cheated on me.” He let out a dry chuckle. “With a guy who called himself _V_. Honestly, who calls himself that unless you´re a wannabe rapper or a drug dealer? I never actually found out his real name.” Not that he had particularly cared. Arthur had punched him right in the face and broken his perfectly straight nose. It hadn´t been enough to block out the pain, but it had been a start.

“Arthur…I`m so sorry.” Merlin´s voice was quiet and Arthur could feel how he was leaning into his touch a little, a gesture that made Arthur´s breath hitch in his chest.

He wanted to tell Merlin that is was okay, because he wasn´t in love with Sophia anymore, but back then he had thought that she was the one and what she had done had broken his heart. Arthur had closed himself off, had only ever taken home one night stands, but none of them had been women. He might have checked out guys before, but being happy with Sophia he hadn´t even considered being with anyone other than her, whether I´d be a man or a woman.

“You deserve better than that,” Merlin mumbled and Arthur wanted to kiss him. Because while his friends and Morgana had told him that over and over again he hadn´t been able to believe it. Had always asked himself what he had done wrong to lose her, but Merlin´s words untangled the knot in his stomach and Arthur could feel a warmth spreading from his chest through his entire body.

And he would have kissed him. Had almost taken the step he had been so afraid of during the last year, to let someone in, to make it about more than sex and getting off, but then the little bell above the door rang, indicating a customer.

“Arthur.”

It was like a Déja vu, his father´s voice echoing through the shop, Arthur´s whole body tensing up and Merlin´s eyes growing wide.

“Father.” He managed, feeling his throat closing up as he turned to face Uther, who was standing in the door, his expression, as ever so often, unreadable.

“So that´s what this is about? Another decision based on emotional attachment? I didn´t raise you to be this way.”

Arthur could feel Merlin tensing up beside him and it was only now that he noticed the phone in his father´s hand. Uther must have followed his son´s glance, because he held up the phone, which was showing the picture Arthur had sent to Morgana.

Arthur blinked a few times, trying to remember if he had accidentally sent the picture to his father, but that couldn´t be, right? He was almost tempted to check, but right now he had bigger problems.

“I raised you to be different Arthur, to be efficient, not to be wasting your time here with one of your little adventures.” Uther gestured around and Merlin, who had been standing frozen next to Arthur and finally managed to pull himself together.

“I should…I should probably go,” He muttered and before Arthur could even say anything Merlin had pushed past Uther and left the shop. Arthur wanted to follow him, but his father was blocking the way and he didn´t exactly look like he was about to move. Arthur could have knocked him over, surely, but even considering what Uther had done to him it might still have been a little too much.

“Can we please discuss this like two adults now, Arthur? You know as well as I do that you are better than all of this. I get that you´re trying to rebel against me and…”

“No. You don´t get it at all.” Arthur cut him off, his voice a mix between anger and sadness. “You don´t know me at all, not anymore. You think that I`m like you, that I should just be able to turn off my feelings and do what´s best for business. But that´s now who I am, and it´s not what I want to do either, look at this. It´s what mother loved, she loved coming here with me, loved watching me eat my favorite macaroons and she was always happy when she was here. I put my heart in here and it feels good. I started working for you because that was what was expected of me. I worked extra hours to be able to pay for the lifestyle Sophia wanted, and what did it get me? A broken heart. It made me feel numb and like life wasn´t worth living anymore.”

He had never said these words out loud before, but now that he had Arthur could feel his eyes filling with tears. He had never really allowed himself to cry about Sophia, had barely even cried about his mother´s death, since he had been too young to understand what had really happened.

Uther hadn´t uttered so much as a word, just watched as his son had spoken. It didn´t seem as if he was about to say anything now either, so Arthur pulled the key to the bakery from his pocket and threw it onto the table.

“See yourself out,” He then told him and slipped past his father, who wasn´t making an attempt to stop him. Once he was outside Arthur took a deep breath, using the back of his hand to wipe over his eyes. He felt drained, like he was a mess, and he probably looked the part too.

He eventually started walking down the street, not trusting himself to drive, and then pulled his phone from his pocket. He had planned on calling Merlin, trying to find out where he had gone, but instead he was distracted by the three missed calls from Morgana.

Arthur remembered the picture then, her lack of response and that Uther´s had the picture on his phone. He felt the knot in his stomach return as he dialed his sister´s number while walking through the streets without an actual idea where he was going.

“Arthur?” It didn´t even take more than one ring before Morgana answered and she wasn´t her cheerful self, he could tell.

“What the hell did you do, Morgana?” He almost spat out, wiping his hand over his face again, finding that the rainbow paint was sticking to it.

“Arthur, I`m sorry. I didn´t know he was going to flip his shit like this. You looked so happy and I figured if he saw that he´d come around. You know that, deep down, he loves you.”

It was the first time Arthur had heard her say these words and somehow they made all his anger crumble and he had to stop for a moment. Around him people were laughing and chatting, the pubs had put out chairs and tables out for people to sit and most people around here seemed to have been to the parade, Arthur even recognized some of them from the bakery.

“Arthur? Are you still there?” Morgana´s voice pulled him from his trance and he took a deep breath.

“How do you know what happened anyway?”

“Merlin called when while Gwen and I were having dinner. He asked if he could come see Gwen at her place. But she suggested you should probably go.”

Arthur held back a sigh. “I don´t think I`m the person he´d want to talk to right now, Morgana.”

“Arthur. You haven´t done anything wrong. And I saw the way he looked at you, not only back at the party but also at the shop. And I haven´t seen you as happy as you were in that picture in a long time.”

Arthur could almost heard the fondness in her voice and Merlin had been right, she did love him, just like he loved her in return and despite all the bickering over the years they´ve always had each other´s backs.

“Can you text me Gwen´s address?”

-

Gwen´s apartment was a little farther from the city center and Arthur had to take a taxi to get here. He could have probably walked too, but considering he wanted to make sure Merlin was okay it made a lot more sense to get there as fast as possible.

The building was one of the older ones, but the façade had been renovated and the stairs that lead up to the door were framed with pots in which flowers were growing. Any other day Arthur would have appreciated the sight, but right now he had other things on his mind.

He glanced at the nameplates, finding _G. Smith_ rather easily, before ringing the doorbell.

“Gwen?” Merlin´s voice came through the speaker. “Did you forget your keys?”

“No...it´s me. Arthur.”

For a moment there was no response and Arthur was already coming up with ways to break into a second floor apartment without falling to his death, when he heard a buzzing and was able to push the door open.

He forced himself to slowly walk up the stairs, reminding himself to breathe and ignoring the knot in his stomach, which seemed to be getting tighter with each step.

The door was open when he reached the apartment. It was cute, a small studio apartment with canvases, brushes and paint everywhere. Somewhere in the far corner there was a small couch on which Merlin was sitting, shoulders slouched and head hanging low.

He didn´t even look up when Arthur closed the door behind himself.

“Merlin.” Arthur held back a sigh before moving towards the couch and sitting down, but making sure to keep a little distance between them, just in case Merlin hated him and actually wanted nothing to do with him anymore.

For a moment there was nothing but silence between them while Arthur tried to sort out his thoughts and figure out a way to start a conversation.

“Look. I´m sorry you were dragged into this. I should have…” He trailed off, shaking his head. What should he have done? Arthur didn´t know. For the first time in his life Arthur didn´t have a solution to a problem and it left him speechless.

“You know.” Merlin eventually began, lifting his head as he glanced at Arthur. “I shouldn´t have ran away. It´s just…when your father said these things…it wasn´t exactly easy being gay in a small town. People talked, they waited for me after school. It got a lot better when I moved to London, but…sometimes I still heard them calling me names and…” Now Merlin trailed off, his hands fidgeting in his lap.

It took Arthur a moment to put the pieces together.

_I didn´t raise you to be this way._

“Oh, Merlin no.” He then found himself saying, hands immediately coming to rest on top of the other man´s. “My father is a lot of not so great things, but he´s not homophobic. What he meant when he said all these things was that he wanted me to be like him. Calculated, logical, always doing what´s best for business. I told you he was right when he accused me of making an emotional decision with the bakery. And I was being emotional about you too. Because you made me feel like life was worth living again. That I could do something with my life and actually be happy about it. I didn´t think…I just wasn´t sure if I could ever feel this way again after Sophia.”

Arthur shook his head, letting out a chuckle. “Look at me, I sound like a guy from a soap opera.” He glanced down at where his hands were resting on top of Merlin´s and despite the tense situation he felt better, simply because Merlin hadn´t pulled away from him yet.

“Wow. I feel a little stupid right now.” Merlin eventually managed and suddenly there were tears falling from his eyes.

Arthur panicked slightly, squeezing the other man´s hands. “Hey, no. That´s not stupid. Just…no, there´s no reason to cry. It´ll be fine.”

Arthur had never really been good at dealing with crying, not even with himself, so he just sat there, the thoughts racing in his head as he tried to come up with a way to comfort Merlin.

Apparently that wasn´t necessary though, because the despite the tears Merlin´s lips were curled into a smile. “No…I´m not…I´m just relieved. Back then I promised myself I´d never cry about these kind of things again. So I didn´t. But now it´s just…I´m glad. Even if that doesn´t solve the problem you have with your father.”

Arthur returned the smile as he reached out to rest his hand against Merlin´s cheeks, for once not brushing away powdered sugar, but the tears.

“You keep doing that,” Merlin whispered as he glanced at Arthur.

“Yes well you keep having things on your face,” Arthur teased, causing Merlin to roll his eyes.

“Would you please just kiss me now?” Merlin returned, “Because I don´t think I can take another interruption.”

And well Arthur didn´t need to be told twice.

-

They had fallen asleep after a while, curled up on the couch and tangled up in each other, only to be woken up by Arthur´s phone ringing.

He groaned, fiddling for the device in his pockets, but got a little distracted by Merlin, whose face was buried against Arthur´s neck, with his breath tickling him slightly.

“Yeah? This better be important,” he groaned.

Morgana´s voice came from the other end of the line, sounding a little more cheerful than before. “You better be having amazing sex right now for leaving us hanging like this.” She told him. “Also you should probably come back to your bakery, because I´m not cleaning up here and closing.”

Arthur frowned, momentarily distracted once again by Merlin´s ruffled hair and the way he was looking at him with sleepy eyes. “What are you doing at the bakery?” He then managed, though Morgana had already hung up.

-

They both straightened out their clothes and fixed their hair before Arthur called them a taxi that would take them back to the bakery. He still wasn´t sure what Morgana, and possibly Gwen, were doing there, especially since he had left his key there for his father to lock up.

Once the taxi driver was paid Arthur closed the door and headed for the bakery, Merlin trailing close behind. He could have gone without heading back to the bakery today, but someone had to make sure they could open tomorrow.

When they entered the shop, however, they weren´t faced with Morgana or Gwen though, but with Uther, who was standing behind the counter and looking at a framed picture of his late wife, which Arthur had put up next to the kitchen door.

“She really did love this place, didn´t she?” He asked and Arthur felt how Merlin´s hand slid into his. “Or no…she loved taking you here. She always told me how your eyes lit up whenever she bought you these macaroons. They were your favorites,”

He nodded, turning to face his son, his eyes briefly wandering over to Merlin.

“What do you want?” Arthur pressed out, trying to focus on the way Merlin was squeezing his hand in an attempt to calm him down.

“Is it so hard to believe that I came back to apologize?” Uther asked and Arthur almost told him that yes it was, because that was about the last thing he would have expected of his father.

“Don´t answer that.” Uther shook his head. “I did came to apologize. I wasn´t…quite fair with you, all these years. Morgana was always the rebel, it was easy to just put everything on you, because you did what you were told. I should have put my son first, not the man I wanted you to become.”

Now Arthur was the one squeezing Merlin´s hand, hard, as he fought back the tears.

“Did Morgana threaten to have you killed?” He eventually managed and Uther let out a chuckle.

“Well actually she threatened to sell her gallery and travel around the world to get some inspiration for her paintings and she also threatened to find a way to do it with my money, but she didn´t really need to.” He then explained.

“I know when I´m wrong, Arthur. And I shouldn’t have treated you the way I did. Now, I`m still not exactly happy that you quit your job with me, but you did do a good job here. And it seems like you´ve got yourself a very competent employee.”

He moved a little closer and extended his hand towards Merlin, who blushed and glanced at Arthur briefly, before taking the other man´s hand, shaking it.

“Uther Pendragon. I hope we can get off to a better start this time.”

Arthur actually thought to have caught a glimpse of a smile on his father´s face, but he might have only imagined that.

“Merlin Emrys. And yes, me too, Sir.” Merlin nodded then and Uther shook his head.

“No need to call me Sir. Now, it´s late, so I think I´ll be calling it a night. I expect a goodbye party at the office for you, Arthur. Maybe you could even make sure to provide the desserts,”

Arthur, who had stayed silent for the last few minutes, had wanted to say something in return, but instead he launched forward and wrapped his arms around his father.

Uther, just as surprised as Arthur was about his own actions, mirrored his son´s movements though, a faint smile on his lips.

Neither of them could remember when they had last hugged each other.

After a few seconds they pulled apart and Uther straightened out his shirt, nodding. “I´ll be hearing about the party then,” He told them before heading for the door.

Arthur stood still for a moment, letting it all sink in, before he turned to Merlin, who had tears in his eyes once more.

“Oh no, no more crying.” He warned him and Merlin laughed, shaking his head.

“You´ll have to deal with that,” he informed him and before he could say anything else Arthur had pulled him in for a kiss and decided that while he liked the taste of macaroons and French toast, he liked the taste of Merlin´s lips even more.

 

**_The End._ **


End file.
